Regents OK tuition rates for UM-Dearborn

By Ken Kettenbeil
UM-Dearborn

The Board of Regents approved a 3.9 percent increase in undergraduate tuition and 2.9 percent graduate tuition increase for students at UM-Dearborn. At the June 17 meeting, regents also approved the university’s proposed fiscal year 2011 operating budget.

“While it is always a difficult decision to raise tuition, the university is committed to academic excellence, retaining and attracting the best faculty, preserving a robust student learning environment and making a Michigan education accessible to all students,” said Chancellor Daniel Little. “Aggressive university budget-reduction efforts helped keep the proposed increase at its lowest level in five years.”

A typical in-state, full-time undergraduate student with 12 credit hours would pay an average of $4,504 in tuition and fees per semester starting in September 2010. The cost of tuition and fees for graduate students varies from program to program.

The state of Michigan is experiencing unprecedented financial difficulties, and funding for the state’s 15 public universities continues to decline. While the state has not yet finalized its budget, it is expected higher education will face at least a 3 percent decline in state funding. If the state enacts a significantly lower appropriation or reduces the university’s appropriation through a mid-year rescission, the university may return to the Board of Regents to recommend a mid-year tuition rate increase.

UM-Dearborn has trimmed nearly $5 million from its operating budget over the past five years, and will identify an additional $400,000 in the current academic year 2010-11. Savings have resulted from building energy conservation measures, health care incentives, bank fee savings, ownership transfer of the Henry Ford Estate, the migration of print materials online and streamlining purchasing practices with the Ann Arbor and Flint campuses.

Faculty and staff also have worked hard to increase university revenue through additional research funding, fundraising efforts and rental income.

UM-Dearborn has created a website — www.umd.umich.edu/tuition2010 — to help students better understand the various factors used in determining tuition rates and resources available such as financial aid and scholarship opportunities.